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LookTel helps the blind count their money using an iPhone

by Kelly Hodgkins Jul 14th 2011 at 5:00PM

Smartphone cameras are quite versatile. Some people used them to take pretty pictures, while others use them for the recognition of a face, product or an object. LookTel has taken this idea of object recognition and used it as the cornerstone of a new app called Money Reader.

Money Reader uses your iPhone camera to identify dollar bills from $1 up to $100. The app is designed to let those with a visual impairment accurately count their money. The identification happens in real-time so users can quickly count or sort a pile of cash.

Besides its utility in counting money, LookTel is hoping to use this recognition technology to identify landmarks, recognize objects and read back text. It may also be used with GPS and maps to provide a voice guidance system for the blind.

The Money Reader app is available for US$1.99 in the iTunes App Store and is compatible with the iPhone (4, 3GS) and iPod Touch (4th Generation).



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Smartphone cameras are quite versatile. Some people used them to take pretty pictures, while others use them for the recognition of a...
 

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13 Comments

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quarkdoll

The Treasury department already has a free app that does this. Save your money.
http://www.eyenote.gov/

July 15 2011 at 12:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
j5uh

Here's a great review done by a sight impaired person. http://www.theblindcook.com/2011/04/04/the-looktel-money-reader-app-for-phones-helps-the-blind-sort-their-cash/

I think this is a great app.

July 14 2011 at 7:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
simon

Well, maybe the US should do what basically every other country in the world does and make dollar bills in different sizes according to their value. Sure, they won't look like they have looked like in the past 100 years, but blind people would really appreciate it...

July 14 2011 at 6:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to simon's comment
fembassist

hahahaha, that was a good laugh. When was the last time the US govt actually did something good for the people? Ah yes, the national health care idea.

July 15 2011 at 3:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Martin

This type of app would be marketed for people with various degrees of visual impairment. Just because someone has vision loss, does not mean they are blind. I have Retinitis Pigmentosa, and am "legally blind" yet I am able to use smartphones. In fact the iphone is the best of all the smartphones for universal access.

July 14 2011 at 5:23 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Adrian Calderon

How is it supposed the blind people will open the app on the iPhone on the first place?

July 14 2011 at 5:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Adrian Calderon's comment
Gene Cowan

Seriously?
With the assumption that this isn't a badly-constructed joke: the iPhone has accessibility built in.

July 14 2011 at 5:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Gene Cowan's comment
Andrew

It has accessibility built in yes. However I have 2 blind friends, and I can pretty much guarantee you that they would tell you laying out all of the bills on a table and then using accessibility to open the app and then scanning each bill that they don't know the exact place of because they just played out 15 bills is more of a hassle than its worth. Especially with the repeats it shows in the video. How do you know if its the same bill, or one right next to it?

Is the app neat? Yes. Practical? Not really.

July 14 2011 at 6:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down
brianashe@mac.com

@Andrew: then don't lay them all out on a table. Hold them in your hand and go through them one at a time. It's not rocket science.

July 15 2011 at 11:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down
Br.Bill

How do blind people figure out where to place the camera when taking these photos? I'm not sure this is bringing us closer to anything.

July 14 2011 at 5:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Br.Bill's comment
Matt K

Just because you and I can't do it with our eyes closed, don't assume the vision-impaired can't.

Seriously, phone's in one hand, bill's in another, you know where the camera is on the phone. The only reason we can't align the two with our eyes closed is because we're geospacially retarded. You become geospacially gifted pretty damn quickly when you don't have your eyes to rely on.

July 15 2011 at 1:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eliot Burns

Maybe I am missing something: But if you're blind, how do you know where to push the app to start the cool talking money app to begin with?

July 14 2011 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Eliot Burns's comment
Wayne Luke

Turn on accessibility and it will tell you everything you push. Plus it becomes a double tap system. I have a blind friend and he uses a touch screen phone (not an iPhone) just fine.

July 15 2011 at 8:36 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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